CT Sub Trail: 21 Artist-Decorated Submarines In Groton Region

Lauren Schneiderman

Maureen Ahrens, of Groton, stands behind her gold submarine sculpture inspired by Henna designs. On the 4th of July, the city of Groton will unveil a new public art project, of a series of 21 submarines made by various local artists, to celebrate the region's maritime history.

Maureen Ahrens, of Groton, stands behind her gold submarine sculpture inspired by Henna designs. On the 4th of July, the city of Groton will unveil a new public art project, of a series of 21 submarines made by various local artists, to celebrate the region's maritime history.

Patriotic subs. subs. A sub motivated by hunger. One inspired by 'Finding Nemo'. All part of CT Sub Trail

About a decade ago, southeastern Connecticut had a Whale Trail, a public-art project of 46 fiberglass, artist-decorated whales scattered around the area that celebrated the area's whaling past. Now, in honor of the 100-year anniversary of Submarine Base New London, the U.S. Navy's first submarine base, artists are unveiling the CT Sub Trail, a collection of 21 artist-decorated submarines.

The submarines will make their debut at the Groton 4th of July parade. Afterward, they will be installed in locations in Groton, New London, Mystic, Mashantucket, Uncasville, Niantic, Montville and Waterford from July 5 through October.

The artists started with identical, 5-foot-long white fiberglass-polyresin submarines and decorated them in a wide variety of styles, using acrylic paint or collage. All were coated with an automotive-grade clear-coating.

Some subs have patriotic or maritime images. Katie Fogg's sub shows a vantage point from New London looking at the Groton waterfront. Felicia Stevens shows American flags and Ledge Light in Groton. Chip Adams' "Ode to the American Turtle" pays homage to one of the first submarines.

Other designs are lighthearted. Laura Maiolo painted multicolored fish. Another sub depicts Nemo from "Finding Nemo." One sub shows a cute shoreline scene of Connecticut birds on a beach.

On the Fourth of July, the city of New London will unveil a new public art project, of a series of submarines made by local artists, to celebrate the city's maritime history.

On the Fourth of July, the city of New London will unveil a new public art project, of a series of submarines made by local artists, to celebrate the city's maritime history.

Others are goofy. Michael Whittle, 16, of Gales Ferry, turned his sub into a sandwich. "I had a mental block. I must have been hungry or something," Whittle said. He Googled sandwich elements — bread, lunch meat, cheese, tomatoes — and printed out hundreds of photos. Then he cut them out and pasted them collage-style to make the sandwich.

Kate Fioravanti, of Waterford, district art supervisor for New London Public Schools, had her students make an homage to the arts magnet school that will open in the fall. Kindergarten through seventh-grade kids made images focusing on all the arts: piano keys, a paint palette, a theater stage, dancing figures. Musical notes on the sub are "Anchors Aweigh."

Lauren Schneiderman / lschneiderman@courant.com

On July 4, the city of Groton will unveil a new public art project of a series of 21 submarines made by local artists, to celebrate the region's maritime history.

On July 4, the city of Groton will unveil a new public art project of a series of 21 submarines made by local artists, to celebrate the region's maritime history. (Lauren Schneiderman / lschneiderman@courant.com)

Maureen Ahrens and Edward Coney created a black-and-gold "Sub-Merged Garden" with florals, vines, leaves and bubbles, with navy-blue fins.

Joy Supples, a teacher at Grasso Tech in Groton, is the project's art director. She said corporations, businesses and schools paid to sponsor a sub. Proceeds from the project will benefit the U.S.S. Groton Sail Foundation.

A free CT Sub Trail app, which includes a sub locator map and artist profiles, is available at ctsubmarinecentury.com and in the iTunes store.

GROTON 4TH OF JULY PARADE will start at 10 a.m. on U.S. Route 1, from South Road to Drozdyk Drive. The CT Sub Trail, with subs in their locations, will be up starting July 5. ctsubmarinecentury.com.